Hamlin Hints at Career Countdown

By Dennis Krause

There were a lot of numbers to consider after Denny Hamlin’s Enjoy Illinois 300 NASCAR Cup Series win, Sunday, at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis.

It was win number 200 for Toyota in the Cup Series since it joined in 2007. It was also Hamlin’s 59th career Cup Series win, 56 of which have come in a Toyota with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Then there was the number 70 - a number thrown out by Hamlin as to how many races he thought he had left in his career. While it doesn’t seem to line up exactly, Hamlin confirmed that his next two-year deal to drive for JGR will be his last.

“Yes. That’s correct,” said Hamlin. “It’s always been about number of races. The only one I thought about was this year and the Daytona 500, thinking that probably only going to do this twice more.

“Brickyards, right? I haven’t won the freaking Brickyard. I’m going to have two more shots at it, and that’s it, to round this thing out.

“There’s certain races that I do have countdowns for. Championships isn’t one of ’em. Obviously it’s well-documented that I want to get the wins, and I feel like that will carry its weight long after. When you compare me to someone that’s maybe got one or two, maybe three championships, and half the wins, I don’t think that person’s better than I am.”

Hamlin, who will turn 45 one week after the season concludes at Phoenix Raceway, has impressed Gibbs and crew chief Chris Gayle, with his work ethic.

“The discussion is always at what point does somebody start going downhill? I think in Denny’s case, he’s got a real drive,” noted Gibbs, who knows a thing or two about athletes and when they begin to decline. “To be quite truthful, he has a lot that he gets excited about. His podcast, 23XI. He’s in one meeting after another. I think he’s ADD in a way. He does more stuff, the better off he is.

“I think Chris knows, but what I’ve noticed is his work ethic. He’s got a real drive I think to succeed. It’s unusual for athletes because we’ve all witnessed it in this sport. At about that age, you know, they start to trail off. That’s not the case with him.”

Previously the crew chief for JGR’s No. 54 team for two seasons, Gayle didn’t know quite what to expect, but has since learned about the veteran driver when they teamed up after last season.

“Some of it was probably his work ethic,” observed Gayle. “Not being involved in it, I didn’t know how much he took pride in that. He will tell you, he wasn’t that way five, six years ago. The amount of time he puts into it.

“But even on whether it’s simulator, whatever, even if it’s texting at 10 p.m. at night, we have a Slack channel with me and the engineers and spotter, we’re getting random texts with things he’s thinking about. We’re like, I assumed he might be off duty right now, and not really, he’s still sitting there in the bus looking at stuff. I think those are the things that I did not realize from the outside, how competitive he is, at really everything. But I see it on this side of it.”

The reason why Hamlin’s more involved than before?

“Just everything’s so much closer,” said Hamlin. “Used to be able to build speed in your cars that separated you from the competition. Now with everything so similar, how else am I supposed to set myself apart from everyone else?

“I’ve got some talent, but I feel as though the working part of it is how I separate myself. Understanding, washing machines work real hard, too, but doesn’t mean they’re always productive. You got to know what to look for. You got to identify it. Then you have to go to work to fix it.

“That’s where I feel like I’m good at, is identifying the problem first, all my problems essentially. My job is to find all my flaws. Then it’s my job to go fix them on the racetrack.”

Whenever Hamlin does retire, he admits he’ll miss that work.

“Yeah. I mean, certainly there will be a huge, huge void. I’ll find something else to latch onto. Yeah, I mean, certainly I’m a results-based person. When I can come out here and race against guys like half my age and be able to beat ’em, like, that’s very gratifying for me. That’s what I’m going to miss. That will be the toughest part about hanging it up.”

With five wins this season, and certainly in the conversation for a first Cup Series championship, why is Hamlin contemplating retirement now?

“Just got to be a means to an end,” Hamlin replied. “I’m just not going to leave this sport on my deathbed, you know, just leaking oil, running in the back of the pack. I have way too much pride for that. I’m way too cocky for that. There’s just no way. I want to be able to win my last race.

“To do that, I’m going to have to retire when I’m racing like this.”

Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.

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